Some of the paddy fields at Dawathang under Chhuzanggang were left fallow due to lack of proper irrigation channel for almost three years now.
A flash flood in 2017 has washed away the local irrigation channel at Dawathang affecting about four households. Tsheten Dorji is one among them and for past three year’s his paddy fields were left uncultivated.
There was no water during the time of paddy transplantation, so, I tried fixing the damaged channel and hired a machine for restoring it but it got washed away the same night. Then I gave up and reported to the gewog office,” said Tshten Dorji, from Chhuzanggang.
The Chhuzanggang Gup said they could not repair the damaged channel during the previous years because of no allocated budgets.
“The extent of damage was huge and would incur a huge amount. That’s why it got prolonged. People claimed there are more households but have in reality there are only a few households depending on it,” said Sangay Tshering, the gup of Chhuzanggang.
However, he said that the gewog office has proposed the maintenance of the irrigation channel in the current plan.
For now, people can only hope the proposal is sanctioned soon and they are able to see the return of paddy cultivation in their village.
